The present invention relates to compositions having antihepatitic activity containing components derived from natural substances, and more particularly to compositions having antihepatitic activity containing dry product of defatted whole egg of eggs of a fowl bred by feeding a feed containing dry products of certain plants.
In Japan, chronic hepatitis afflicts a huge number of persons, a majority of which is occupied by hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers. Chronic hepatitis is a disease very difficult to cure. It is highly possible that after a long progress it proceeds into cirrhosis and further into hepatoma and there is no decisive specific for curing it. Methods for curing the disease currently focus on interferon (IFN) treatment contemplated to control or disinfect viruses.
However, IFN treatment has its limit and there is no other decisive therapy, so that the therapy of chronic hepatitis takes a long period of time anyhow. Accordingly, an auxiliary treatment in which glycyrrhizin formulations or Chinese galenicals such as malgranda bu-supo is used in combination has been used widely as a means for inhibiting the progress of the disease and improving the liver function injury. In particular, malgranda bu-supo, one of Chinese galenicals, causes side effects to a lesser extent than other drugs do and is relatively high in therapeutic index in respect of inhibition of inflammation. Therefore, it has come to attention.
Recently, however, the very malgranda bu-supo has come to fail to give satisfaction since its use in combination with an IFN formulation, which is the first selected drug for chronic hepatitis C, has frequently caused a side effect called interstitial pneumonia and such combined use has become a contradiction.
In any rate, under the present circumstances where no potent radical cure other than IFN treatment is present, there is little alternative therapy that supplements it. Thus, the patients suffering from chronic hepatitis desire the appearance of a novel drug for the therapy of hepatitis, which can be used daily and continuously for a long period of time with peace in mind.
Under the circumstances, challenges have been made on utilization of Chinese galenicals other than malgranda bu-supo or compositions derived from other natural substances as antihepatitic drugs. Actually, many such challenges have been described or reported in many patent publications, academic literature, and the like. There remains an ample possibility that further searches on natural substances will result in finding effective drug components.
In the case of intractable diseases such as chronic hepatitis whose therapy takes a long period of time, it is needless to say that the problems of side effects of a drug to be used and of drug tolerance in that the affected area of a patient resists the drug will become serious hindrances to the therapy.
However, it is considered that the conventional methods in which a drug component alone is isolated and purified or semi-synthesized from a particular natural substance as a therapeutic drug cannot solve the above-mentioned problems. So far as the organism (or living body) recognizes the drug as a foreign matter containing a cytotoxic factor, the problems of side effects and drug tolerance cannot be avoided to occur. Furthermore, other problems on drugs derived from natural substances include one that in many cases the component found with difficulty is poor as a resource, so that its industrial application is impossible.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to conduct a search for natural drugs and their formulae derived from natural substances that hardly cause side effects and drug tolerance, based on quite a new idea having departed from conventional drugs such as Chinese galenicals, Chinese medicine formulae, etc. and to develop a composition that has an antihepatitic activity.
Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention have made extensive studies with a view to solving the above-described problems and as a result they have found that a dry product of defatted whole egg (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cdefatted whole egg dry productxe2x80x9d) of eggs produced by a fowl bred by feeding a feed to which a dry product of Angelica keiskei (xe2x80x9cAshitabaxe2x80x9d, in Japanese) (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cAngelica keiskei dry productxe2x80x9d) and optionally a dry product of Theaceae Camellia (xe2x80x9cTsubakixe2x80x9d, in Japanese) (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cTheaceae Camellia dry productxe2x80x9d) has antihepatitic activity. Also, the inventors of the present invention have found that a composition containing in addition to the above-mentioned defatted whole egg dry product, the Angelica keiskei dry product and optionally the Theaceae Camellia dry product has antihepatitic activity.
That is, the inventors of the present invention have found that the composition containing the above-mentioned defatted whole egg dry product has antihepatitic activity, i.e., an activity of preventing an increase in serum transaminase level associated with liver diseases and also that the composition containing the defatted whole egg dry product, the Angelica keiskei dry product and optionally the Theaceae Camellia dry product has excellent antihepatitic activity.
The present invention has been accomplished based on these findings.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention relates to a composition having an antihepatitic activity, characterized by comprising a dry product of defatted whole egg of eggs of a fowl bred by feeding a feed having blended therein an additive comprising a dry product of Angelica keiskei, a dry product of brown algae, and optionally a dry product of Theaceae Camellia. 
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention relates to a composition according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the fowl is a member selected from the group consisting of hens, ducks and quails.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the present invention relates to a composition having antihepatitic activity, characterized by comprising a dry product of defatted whole egg of the first aspect of the invention and a dry product of Angelica keiskei. 
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the present invention relates to a composition having antihepatitic activity, characterized by comprising a dry product of defatted whole egg of the first aspect of the invention, a dry product of Angelica keiskei and a dry product of Theaceae Camellia. 
According to the present invention, novel natural drugs derived from natural substances departing from conventional drugs Chinese galenicals, Chinese medicine formulae, etc. are provided. That is, compositions that contain components derived from natural substances as effective components and have antihepatitic activity are provided. In particular, the compositions of the present invention are excellent in specific antihepatitic effect to trouble in liver induced by drugs.
In addition, the compositions of the present invention are extremely weak in toxicity so that it is expected that they can be utilized not only in the therapy of hepatitis, etc. as drugs but also in preventing the above-mentioned diseases by adding them to various foods and taking them daily.
As described above, the present invention relates to compositions having antihepatitic activity derived from familiar products that have never been used conventionally as raw materials, such as Angelica keiskei and Theaceae Camellia, which are natural substances, as well as a dry product of whole egg defatted from specific eggs produced by utilizing such natural substances as feeds.
Although it is unclear as to what compound contained in the components constituting the composition of the present invention is the main body that exhibits pharmacological activity, it is believed that a plurality of compounds contained therein act in combination with each other.
Angelica keiskei used as a raw material in the present invention is an umbelliferous perennial plant known to have strong authigenic ability and contain abundant nutritional components. It is authigenically distributed mainly in the southern coasts of Izu peninsula and Izu islands, Japan. However, recently it is also cultivated as a vegetable or the like in Japan.
Various portions, such as leaves, stems, and roots, of Angelica keiskei may be used, with leaves and stems being preferred. There has been no report on utilization of Angelica keiskei as a component of a drug having antihepatitic activity.
The Angelica keiskei dry product used in the present invention can be obtained, for example, by cutting Angelica keiskei to a suitable size (usually 10 to 15 mm square) after optionally washing the leaves and stems of Angelica keiskei with water, freezing the cut plant pieces, and then sublimating the iced water in vacuum to dry them. The dry product is used usually after it is processed into the form of powder in consideration of convenience. This is yellowish green (young leaf color) powder. Hereinafter, the Angelica keiskei dry product is referred to as xe2x80x9cI-01Bxe2x80x9d.
Theaceae Camellia is an evergreen tall tree that is authigenically distributed in Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, etc. districts in Japan and includes many kinds of variations for appreciation, etc. prepared by breeding. In the present invention, a wild type of Camellia japonica (Yabutsubaki) is preferable.
The portions of Theaceae Camellia to be used in the present invention include leaves, flowers, seeds, etc., with leaves being particularly preferable. Thus far no report has been made on utilization of leaves, etc. of Theaceae Camellia as components of drugs. In the present invention, the Theaceae Camellia dry product obtained by roasting, for example, leaves, etc. of Theaceae Camellia are used as the Theaceae Camellia dry product. As an example thereof, first, picked Theaceae Camellia leaves are dried. The drying is performed by heating them at 60 to 80xc2x0 C. for 3 to 5 hours. Then, the dry product is cut to a suitable size (usually, about 5 mm square) and then roasted. The roasting is performed generally by using a hot iron plate drum type roasting apparatus at 100 to 150xc2x0 C. for 10 to 30 minutes. For the same reason as in the case of the dry product of Angelica keiskei, usually powdered Theaceae Camellia is used. This is brown powder. Hereinafter, the Theaceae Camellia dry product is referred to as xe2x80x9cI-01Cxe2x80x9d.
The eggs produced by fowls to be used in the present invention are those eggs produced by fowls bred by feeding with a feed containing an additive comprising I-01B and a dry product of brown algae (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cbrown algae dry productxe2x80x9d), for example, dried tangle weed, as an auxiliary component, or a feed containing an additive comprising I-01B, I-01C and a brown algae dry product. Note that as basal feeds, those feeds commonly used in breeding fowls are used. For preparing feed additives, respective raw materials are blended in the following ratios: (1) I-01B:brown algae dry product=1-4:1-4 (by weight ratio), preferably 1:1 (by weight ratio), or (2) I-01B:I-01C:brown algae dry product=1-4:1-4:1-4 (by weight ratio), preferably 2:1:1 (by weight ratio).
The blending amounts of the additives to the feed are not particularly limited but in the case of the additive (1), the blending amount of the additive is 1 to 20% by weight, preferably 2 to 8% by weight while in the case of the additive (2), the blending amount of the additive is 1 to 20% by weight, preferably 2 to 8% by weight.
Fowls may be bred by a conventional method except that the special additives as described above are blended to the feed. The fowls include hens, ducks, quails, etc., with hens being preferable.
Eggs must be collected after at least 10 days"" feeding on a feed having blended therein the above-mentioned additives. The reason thereof resides in that, generally, the period during which the components contained in the feed additive move over into eggs is considered to be about 3 days in the case of water-soluble components and about 3 weeks in the case of fat-soluble components. However, according to the finding by the inventors of the present invention, a conclusion has been obtained that it is desirable that egg collection is done after feeding the feed containing the above-mentioned additive to the fowls for at least 10 days.
Moreover, although details are unclear, the inventors of the present invention have found that proteins in the above-mentioned eggs are useful for the purpose of the present invention.
Accordingly, the whole egg obtained from eggs collected is defatted and dried to obtain a dry product. That is, liquid egg obtained by cracking eggs is sufficiently agitated to homogenize it and then frozen by a conventional method to obtain frozen whole egg, which then is dried. The drying is performed preferably by using a microwave drier under controlling the power and heating time of the microwave drier so that the temperature of the product does not exceed a range of 80 to 90xc2x0 C. This can provide a whole egg dry product in the form of chips.
Then, the whole egg dry chips are defatted by extracting them by distillation with an alcohol such as methanol, ethanol, etc., as an extraction solvent, and thereafter, the defatted whole egg is recovered. Note that at the time of extraction, the solvent is heated to a temperature not higher than 60xc2x0 C. and the extraction is completed within 1.5 hours, preferably in from 30 minutes to 1 hour. If necessary, this defatting treatment may be repeated several times.
By applying a hot air drying to the defatted whole egg, a whole egg dry product is obtained. Note that it is preferred that the hot air drying is performed by using a hot air fluidized bed type drier or the like. Since powder is desirable also in the case of whole egg dry product, usually powdered whole egg dry product is used. This can be obtained by pulverizing the whole egg dry product to a suitable size by using, for example, a pulverizer such as a hammer mill. The whole egg dry product thus obtained has a pale brown color. The defatted whole egg dry product derived from eggs obtained by breeding fowls with a feed having blended therein the additive (1) is referred to as xe2x80x9cI-01A(1)xe2x80x9d, and the defatted whole egg dry product derived from eggs obtained by breeding the fowls with a feed having blended therein the additive (2) is referred to as xe2x80x9cI-01A(2)xe2x80x9d.
The composition containing, as active components, I-01A, which is the above-mentioned defatted whole egg dry product, specifically I-01A(1) or I-01A(2), is the composition having antihepatitic activity according to the first aspect of the present invention.
On the other hand, the composition containing, as active components, I-01A, which is the above-mentioned defatted whole egg dry product, I-01B, which is the above-mentioned Angelica keiskei dry product, and optionally I-01C, which is the above-mentioned Theaceae Camellia dry product, is a composition having antihepatitic activity according to the third or fourth embodiment of the present invention.
The drug compositions of the present invention are very low in toxicity. For example, in a repetitive administration of mixed feed in which a composition containing I-01A and I-01B in combination is administered to rats for 2 weeks at a mixed ratio of 30%, no toxicity was observed.
In the case of other compositions containing other combinations, in mouse leukemia pharmacological experiments conducted by administration at a mixed ratio of 20 to 45%, there has been observed no change suggesting toxicity in general states such as body weight, feed taking amount, amount of exercise, etc. throughout the period of 10 days before transplantation of leukemia cells and survival period after the transplantation as compared to the non-administered control group. In addition, they exhibited significant anticancer effect of 200% or more in terms of life sustaining ratio.
Therefore, the drug compositions of the present invention are excellent in safety and can be used as food additives so that daily uptake thereof can prevent diseases.
The drug compositions of the present invention are administered mainly by an oral route. The form of the compositions is not particularly limited and they can be prepared into capsules, granules, tablets, etc. by, for example, a conventional preparation method.
The dosages and blending ratios of the respective components when the drug compositions of the present invention are used for humans are as follows. For example, in the case of the composition according to the first aspect of the invention, it is suitable to administer the composition such that I-01A is administered at a dosage of 0.2 to 20 g/day, preferably 1 to 5 g/day. In the case of the composition according to the third or fourth aspect of the invention containing a blend of I-01A and I-01B, it is suitable to administer the composition in a blending ratio of I-01A:I-01B =1-10:0.5-5, preferably 1-2:0.5-1, at a dosage of 0.2 to 20 g/day, preferably 1 to 5 g/day. Also, in the case of the composition having a formulation of I-01A, I-01B and I-01C, it is suitable to administer the composition in a blending ratio of I-01A:I-01B:I-01C=1-10:0.5-5:0.5-5, preferably 1-2:0.5-1:0.5-1 at a dosage of 0.2 to 20 g/day, preferably 1 to 5 g/day.
The blending ratios and dosages of the respective components described above are merely exemplary and since the components are not toxic, the blending ratios and dosages are not particularly limited to the above-mentioned values and various preparations and formula patterns of dosage in consideration of conditions such as site of disease, progress of disease, state of disease, sex, age, etc. as appropriate are applicable.
Furthermore, also when the drug compositions of the present invention are used as food additives, there is no fear of any toxicity or side effects, so that the addition amounts to foods, etc. may be determined in consideration of the above-mentioned preparations and formula patterns of dosage, etc.